Fence.



UNITED STATES Patented September 6, 1 90 1.

PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES A. ODELL, OF "EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL VITRIFIED POST COMPANY, OF BRAZIL, INDIANA, AND CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF INDIANA.

FENCE- SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 769,320, dated September 6, 1904.

Application filed July 13, 1903.

T0 tZZ whom it may con/007%.-

Be it known that I, J AMES A. ODELL, a resident of Evanston, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fences, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in fences, and refers more specifically to improved means for securing wir'e fencing to hollow or tubular. posts.

The objects of the invention are to provide a simple practical construction in which the binding wires or staples may be constructed of extremely simple form readily adjusted into position for fastening-and subsequently re-formed in such manner as to securely and conveniently hold the strands offence inposition; to provide a construction which lends itself to convenient and rapid installation by the use of an extremely simple tool; to provide a construction in which the tubular post may be readily formed either of plastic material or of metal, and, ingeneral, to provide an improved construction of the character referred to.

To the above ends the invention consists in the matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims, and the invention will be readily understood from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of a section of fence embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a fence-post forming one feature of the invention. Fig. 3 is a side'elevation of a fragmentary portion of a fence-post of slightly-modified form.

\ Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are fragmentary sectional views of a post, showing the staple apertures therein and the successive positions assumed by the staple during the act of inserting the latter. Fig. 7 is a view of one of the staples formed ready for insertion in the post. Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view (the parts being shown in perspective) showing theform assumedby the staple when twisted down Serial No. 165,305. (No model.)

upon the strand of wire to hold the latter to the post.

Describing the specific embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, 11 designates tubular posts which will usually be made of pottery, although they may be of,

other material, such as iron, each post being provided with a series of pairs of apertures 12 13, located at the points where the strands of wire are designed to be secured to the posts. Of each pair of apertures one, 12, is made large enough to accommodate the full width of a U-shaped securing wire or staple 14:, while the other, 13, is preferably, although not necessarily, made smaller, so as to receive one leg only of the securing wire or staple, and is located at a distance from the larger opening equal approximately to the distance between the two legs of the staple. In the preferred embodiment the larger apertures 12 take the form of slots, which are also preferably disposed to extend longitudinally of the post, for the reason that when so disposed they weaken the post less than if arranged to extend transversely thereof.

The staples 14 are formed of ordinary wire adapted to be twisted without breaking and preferably have the ordinary approximately U-shaped staple form, except that one of the legs 14 is desirably made longer than the other. Both leg members of the staples are, however, made long enough to. ex tend through the side body of the post and project out wardly from the latter sufiiciently to enable the ends to be twisted together and overlie the strand of wire, substantially as shown in Fig. 8, the strand of wire (designated 15) being arranged to lie against the post at a point between the two legs of the" staple and being clamped in this position by the twisted ends of the staple.

The operation of assembling the parts and securing them together is substantially as follows: The staple is held by its longer leg and its closed or U-shaped end inserted through the larger aperture 12 of the post far enough to carry the shorter leg of the staple entirely within the post, as shown in Figs. 4: and 5. The shorter leg is then brought into register with the smaller aperture '13 and the staple drawn out until its inner end engages the part of the post between the two apertures. The fence wire or strand is next adjusted to position between the projecting legs of the staple and any well-known tool for such purpose applied over the ends of the staple and rotated. Upon beginning to rotate the tool the two legs of the staple are first carried around into crossed relation and overlying the fence-wire, and upon further rotation one of the legs will be formed into a more or less conical and spirally shaped coil, as indicated at 22 in Fig. 8. The rotation of the tool is continued until the end of the staple which is forming the coil is all wound up and entirely withdrawn from the tool, after which the tool is removed from the remaining leg and the end of the latter bent over and down upon the coil, as indicated at 23, so as to absolutely prevent this leg of the staple from moving through the encircling portion of the other. The peculiar twisting operation of the tool operates to clamp the underlying fence-wire tightly against the post, and the lock formed by the intertwisted ends of the staple absolutely prevents disengagement of the parts without either breaking the staple or straightening out the untwisted leg thereof. may be performed very expeditiously and with great certainty and uniformity.

It will be obvious from the foregoing that the peculiar configuration of the post or of the apertures therein is not essential to the invention, and it will furthermore be obvious that the staple may be changed in length and shape so long as it is constructed of material capable of being reformed and is adapted to the apertures of the fence-post.

While I have herein shown the invention as embodied in a fence, yet this is only one application of the invention and probably the most important one, and the invention may be employed in other connections.

I claim as my invention 1. In combination, a hollow post, a staple, a pair of staple-apertures extending through the side thereof, one of said apertures being The securing operation large enough to accommodate the full width of the staple and the other located at a distance therefrom aymroximately equal to the distance between the two legs of the staple, said staple having its closed end within the post and its legs extending through the apertures therein, a strand extending between the protruding ends of the staple outside the post, and the ends of the staple twisted together to overlie said strand.

2. In a fence, the combination of a hollow post provided with a series of pairs of stapleapertures, and a series of staples, one aperture of each pair being of a size to accommodate the full width of a staple, and the other located at a distance from the proximate side of the first-mention ed aperture approximately equal to the distance between the legs of the staple, wires extending between the leg members of the several staples outside the post and the ends of the staples twisted together overlying the respective wires.

3. In combination, a hollow post, a staple, a pair of staple-apertures extending through the side thereof, one of said apertures being large enough to accommodate the full width of the staple and the other located at a distance therefrom approximately equal to the distance between the two legs of the staple, said staple having its closed end within the post and its legs extending through the apertures therein, a strand extending between the protruding ends of the staple outside the post, one end of the staple twisted spirally around the other end thereof, and the nonspiral end of the staple bent over the spiral, substantially as described.

4. In combination, a fence-post provided with a pair of apertures therethrough, one of said apertures being of a width equal to the width of a staple, a staple having its legs projecting through said apertures, a wire extending between the legs of said staple, and the ends of said legs twisted together around said wire, substantially as described.

JAMES A. ODELL.

Witnesses: v V

ALBERT H. GrR/rvus, FREDERICK G. Goonwix. 

